Fear of the Unknown
by elfstar54321
Summary: Legolas and Gimli are heading North to Fangorn, when Legolas asks Gimli a question he has been thinking about for a while. Non-slash


Fear of the Unknown

**Disclaimer**

All the usual LOTR disclaimers apply and I do not own any of the characters.

Legolas and Gimli are heading North to Fangorn, when Legolas asks Gimli a question he has been thinking about for a while. Non-slash

**Author's notes**

I don't thing of Gimli as a coward just someone who is uncertain of the future and although fears it will not try and hide from it.

'Gimli, why do you fear the dead?' This question had bothered him for a while ever since he had seen the fear the Dimholt brought to Gimli.

They were both on the plains of West Emnet heading North to Fangorn after coming back from the Glittering Caves, Legolas had not dared say but there were pretty, for a while at least, until you had seen enough of the same stone, however magnificently it had been carved.

'Legolas, you can not understand, if you die whatever happens you will see you family and friends again or you will past into the West where you will be at peace but when I died I have been lead to believe that that Mahal will care for me and my kinfolk.' If they had not been such close friends or had seen so many battles together he would not have told him his darkest secret but he did not hesitate from telling Legolas now nor did he think Legolas would not tell him.

'Why then do you worry?'

'Unlike your future mine is not so certain, I don't believe in such a simple idea I may not go into halls set apart for us, you have heard tales that Dwarves return to the earth and stone from which we were made. This is why I fear death I dream to return to a place where I see the friends I have made both elven and mortal.'

'Do not fear you may yet have a fate different from your kinfolk but yet still see and talk to them, do not worry about your fate Ilúvatar will look after you. Think of Arwen she to has faced the fear, you have but she understands that when she dies Ilúvatar will look after her and reunite her with those she loves.' He had never though how uncertain life was before for a dwarf, he had heard many die on the boarders of his land but it wasn't the same as his he knew what would happen in the event of his death. He knew it was great honour to die in battle for a mortal, he didn't think of the fear they would have of it or the uncertainty it had. 'Why then do you not fear death in battle?'

'It only is a fear if I think about it in battle you don't think about it… or you will die it is only afterwards that fear races through your body telling you how close you came to death. In battle you are only brave because it's what you have been trained to do even if you know before you will die you don't think about it because of what it brings'

'Death?'

'Yes, if you do not know what will happen, you will doubt yourself elves and men have a certain fate and dwarves do if they do not know the tales of the elves. If it is one thing I wish to forget about Lothlorien it is the time I heard the fate which may yet happen to me.'

It was true when Legolas had been laying dead more than once he had felt fear, fear for his family and friends how they might not recover from his death although he did not regret what may happen he still felt sadness. 'Is there anything else that you want to ask me, since I seem to have been asking a lot of questions?'

'Yes there is just one thing before I need to rest, we are not all like you who can go many days without rest and do not show it.'

'Just one?'

No, there are many but one which you would kill me for saying and if I went on and asked all I wanted to know you would have no regrets about killing me in my sleep'

'I think about it every day, one little tale wouldn't push me over the edge'

'Yes, I can imagine you killing me but what would you do you would have no home in Middle-Earth, Aragorn would not let you in his Kingdoms'

'Would he not? I remember him hitting you in Lothlorien and…

'I don't remember?'

'Those bruises on your arm…'

'He said I feel off that perch'

'He lied, now what did you want to ask me? Or if I answer will it destroy peoples view on how elves are always right and never make a mistake.

'Since when were they always right and you've made a mistake more than once.'

'When?'

'I remember Aragorn telling me something once about an elf who he found hanging upside down from a tree… he didn't give any names but it sounded a lot like you.'

'What was this description?'

'Blond, fair but a bit…'

'A bit what?'

'Immature, he said you were screaming like a child.'

'Immature! Well I wasn't. It was his stupid brothers they caught me off guard.'

'So it is you.'

'So what was this thing you wanted me to tell you?'

'In denial are we. Isn't your home a cave?'

'It's not dark and cold and horrible did I mention it's not dark.'

'But it is a cave.'


End file.
